Movie Reviews

Grim, powerful tale

Flight Risk (The Gypsy Moth) | usa | 07/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What would you do?

A young man, just coming into his own, with a growing business and a loving young family, wakes beside his fiancee one night with the realization that someone has invaded their home. It all happens so fast: he tracks the burglar, follows him out of the house with a baseball bat, and seeing the man going for what he thinks is a weapon, he unleashes a killer blow to the back of the man's head. The burglar, as it turns out, had no weapon; his only take, the homeowner's wallet. And because the killing blow happens outside the home, the young man is charged with murder.

Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff)has apparently never been in trouble with the law before, past what most of us have; and he enters the world of jail scared and confused. His fiancee, angry with the system,sticks with him (a good performance by Marisol Nichols), shielding their young son from the worst of the truth, and keeping contact going with Wade, which is the only thing that sustains him in his journey through the system. He is able to bargain the charge down to manslaughter, but still is given time; and complicates his life even further by becoming involved in a scuffle on the bus going to prison,adding more time to his sentence.

Arrival at the prison plunges him into a dark world where survival is all. There are rival gangs, and no one can be counted on as an ally. Wade only wants to do his time and get out. But coloring the entire prison existence is a pervasive corruption amongst the prison guards, with one guard in particular as ringleader (Harold Perrineau, easily recognizable to LOST fans, in a gritty performance as a guard who turned sadistic). As Lt. Jackson, this head guard has a major problem with prison inmates and runs bets on who will win yard fights without doing anything to stop them until he steps in himself by shooting the offender he likes the least - not to kill, but only to maim.

Wade's fortunes change just a little when he is given a new cellmate - a lifer who has been moved to this new facility as a last-ditch effort by the warden in his previous prison to keep the man out of further trouble. This new cellmate, John Smith (Val Kilmer), comes with a history of respect that has permeated the prison system. He is legendary for having murdered the families of the men who killed his own family, and the other prisoners leave him alone. Wade is initially apprehensive of his new cellmate, but the two become guarded friends over the course of time, and John schools Wade in how to survive.

The prime mover in the second half of this drama, however, is Lt. Jackson's maniacal obsession with taking out his life's frustrations on the prisoners under his control. He also controls most of the guards; the one holdout, a young recent hire who has come from the military, watches Lt. Jackson's cruel practices with a pained eye but only makes a move when the prisoners, under Wade and John's influence, make a stand against him. And what Lt. Jackson doesn't know is that Wade's fiancee, with damning evidence provided by Wade, has gone to the FBI with what's going on in the prison.

This was a powerful movie; very sad, also. I found myself aching for Wade, who should have never been in the situation in which he found himself. The prison experience was presented with the foreboding that it probably is in reality; the gangs hang with their own, they battle with rival gangs, and discipline is meted out amongst each other. It was a rough movie to watch, but very absorbing; and all performances - including a small but great role by an old favourite, the excellent actor Sam Sheppard - were outstanding. Val Kilmer looks a bit like the Big Lebowski, with a bushy goatee, but plays his don't-look-at-me-or-I'll-killya role to perfection.

Not a big-marquee movie, but well done and fast-paced."

'Prison desensitizes you'

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 09/21/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Writer/Director Ric Roman Waugh may not have a large number of completed films under his stuntman belt, but if FELON is any indication of the quality of work we can expect from him, it seems he has a solid future. There are many films about prison life and prison breaks that keep coming down the pike, but few of them have the quality of being character studies of how prison affects the minds and lives of both those incarcerated and those on the outside who must deal with the realities both concurrent and future of living in the shadow of ultimate effects of prison experiences. FELON is a strong character-based prison drama.

Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff) is a young man on the rise: he is planning to marry the mother Laura (Marisol Nichols) of his child Michael (Vincent Miller), his small business is finally becoming successful, and his family life is happy. One evening Wade's and Laura's sleep is interrupted by an intruder who steals Wade's wallet, then runs out of the house with Wade chasing him with a baseball bat. One hit with the bat the robber is dead. The police arrive and because of the logistics of the timing of the blow to the robber, Wade is arrested for murder. Unsuccessful attempts to explain the situation eventually lead to Wade's being sentenced to prison and he is sent to a prison run by a sadistic Lt. Jackson (Harold Perrineau) with demons of his own. A famous prisoner John Smith (Val Kilmer) is transferred to the prison and becomes cellmates with Wade. The racial violence between prisoners creates rules and gangs and Wade is caught up in the violence that occurs in the daily 'hour in the yard' experiences, until John shares his knowledge of prison logistics and advises Wade in how to avoid critical issues. The prisoners are not only violent among themselves, but they are also the pawns of the brutally evil Lt. Jackson and his crew who appear to delight in the traumas the prisoners create. It is obvious that the good guy/bad guy line is blurred and in order to survive Wade follows John's wise council to an ending that eventually results in some correction of the evils of the prison situation.

Survival is the key in the cases of many of the characters, including some of the 'good guards' (Nate Parker, Greg Serano), the steadfast Laura, her mother (a small but well defined role for Annie Archer), and for former guard Gordon (Sam Shepard) a friend of John Smith. Dorff and Kilmer provide very strong characterizations as does Perrineau, but without the fairly large cast of 'fellow prisoners' who set the scenes, their overall performances would be less impressive. It is here that Ric Roman Waugh demonstrates his talent for handling the mixture of physical brutality with the fragility of each individual's mind that makes the film work. It is a tough film to watch but it is solid craftsmanship. Grady Harp, September 08"

Harrowing prison movie with solid acting

z hayes | TX | 09/03/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I loved prison flicks like "The Last Castle" [with Robert Redford and James Gandolfini], The Rock [with Sean Connery] and Brubaker [with Robert Redford], and so when I saw this at the DVD store, I decided to give it a chance. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised - despite the non-existent hype, this was quite a solid prison movie with an excellent cast.

The story centers around Wade Porter [Stephen Dorff] who plays an average Joe type character, leading a relatively idyllic existence with his fiancee Laura [Marisol Nichols] and his young son. They are preparing to get married and have dreams for their future when it is all shattered one eventful night with a home intrusion. Wade chases down the intruder and swings at the guy with a bat resulting in the intruder's death. Before you know it, Wade is sentenced on involuntary manslaughter charges to a prison term of three years. But, worse things are in store for Wade - on the trip to prison, he inadvertently finds himself witnessing a brutal murder committed by another inmate, Samson of the Aryan Brotherhood, and refuses to testify for fear of retribution. This gets him into the bad graces of sadistic Lt William Jackson [Harold Perrineau] and into the SHU [Security Housing Unit] at Corcoran State Prison.

Things get more interesting when a 'lifer' named John Smith [Val Kilmer] is transferred over to the prison and becomes Wade's cellmate. Smith appears cold and detached, a man so consumed by his past loss of family that he feels he has nothing left to lose. Despite initial animosity - both Wade and Smith form a tenuous friendship of sorts that is tested to its limits by Lt Jackson whose 'hobby' is pitting inmate against inmate in the yard - where one inmate is attacked by another/others whilst the guards watch them for sport. What happens to Wade and Smith forms the rest of the story.

The movie is well-told, but what makes it compelling is the solid acting -Dorff as Wade Porter, a man who was only doing what he felt was right but finds himself on the other side of the law again and again, finally driven to desperation in a bid to survive the brutal system, one which lacks compassion and justice. Kilmer as John Smith truly plays the 'lifer' to a hilt - a man who sought vengeance on those who killed his family by wiping out the murderers and their families, a man of contradictions and who spouts philosophy, yet remains firmly entrenched as a legend amongst the inmates. Harold Perrineau's Lt Jackson credibly plays a sadistic guard who takes out his frustrations on the inmates, treating them as emotionless, soulless beings undeserving of any form of compassion.

All in all, I found this prison movie to be well-done and though some scenes were truly brutal, the depictions seemed credible and never over the top. Final verdict : highly watchable prison flick with excellent casting.

"

No Such Thing As Little Movies

W. A. Wallace | New York City | 07/20/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The performances in this film are simply amazing. Much embarrassed to say, I was in tears at the end. I am a man. Despite seemingly little time onscreen, both Val Kilmer and Sam Shepard are mesmerizing. Rest assured that with Stephen Dorff, the future of American acting lies secure, lest we not forget Harold Perrineau ("Oz"; "Lost", but without the dreadlocks here) in one of his most electric performances to-date and the younger Nate Parker ("The Great Debaters"), including a great supporting cast with Nick Chinlund and Greg Serano. Catherine Zeta-Jones lookalike Marisol Nichols should have one heck of a career following her performance here. Like Oscar "Manny" Manheim (Jon Voight) in Konchalovsky's "Runaway Train" (1985), it was an honor to know John Smith (Val Kilmer) in this film. Thank you, Ric Roman Waugh, for one of the best films of 2008!"

Harrowing, Involving Prison Drama

Terence Allen | Atlanta, GA USA | 09/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Felon is one of those prison films that makes you pray that you never end up behind bars doing hard time. Filled with violence, intimidation and pathos, it wrings a lot of energy out of you, but makes the payoff worth the effort.

Stephen Dorff is at a good place in life as the film starts. He's the owner of a small construction company planning to expand with a small business loan, and planning his wedding to his live-in girlfriend, with whom he has a young son. One night, he awakes to hear an intruder in his house. He chases the burglar into his front yard, and swings a baseball bat, hitting and killing the burglar. Since the burglar was outside and running away, Dorff is charged with murder.

What happens next is every law-abiding citizen's nightmare. Dorff gets caught up in a prison-gang killing and has time added to his sentence. To make matters worse, his involvement in the killing runs him afoul of the head prison guard (played with gusto by Harold Perrineau from Lost), who amuses himself by making the prisoners fight each other in the yard during recreation time. The only friend Dorff manages to make is his new cellmate, John Smith, played by Val Kilmer, a famous mass-murderer who has been transferred to the prison after his involvement in a prison riot.Kilmer teaches Dorff the ropes of prison life, but even Kilmer's tutelage can't protect Dorff from the sadistic prison guard captain.

This is a very well-written and well acted movie. Kilmer gives one of his finest performances in years, and Perrineau proves that he's more than capable of playing a hissable villain. Felon is a treat that may be hard going down, but is ultimately satisfying."